An instrument panel of an automotive vehicle contains electric switches for operating various devices in the vehicle. For any of various reasons, such as limitations on space available for the number of switches that are desired to be used in a particular instrument panel, it may be important to use switches that are relatively compact in package size. It may also be desirable to group the switches into modules, or clusters. Furthermore, it may be desirable that a switch be illuminated during nighttime operation of a vehicle when the headlight switch is turned on, and that may be done by using a nighttime illumination lamp. It may also be appropriate to use a status indicator lamp to indicate switch status, i.e. causing an indicator lamp to illuminate when a switch is on. These objectives may be accomplished in different ways.
For indicating switch status, a status indicator lamp may be mounted on an instrument panel proximate a switch. Alternatively, a status indicator lamp may be incorporated directly into a switch. In either case, the status indicator lamp will illuminate when the switch is on but will not illuminate when the switch is off.
A switch actuator, a rocker for example, that is present on the face of an instrument panel may be constructed of translucent plastic and masked in a manner to create indicia, either literal and/or symbolic, for identifying the function that the switch performs. If a nighttime illumination lamp is disposed behind the actuator, the indicia may be made prominent during nighttime conditions by causing the illumination lamp to illuminate when the vehicle headlights and running lights are turned on by the vehicle's headlight switch. If a status indicator lamp is also disposed behind the actuator so as to be distinct from the nighttime illumination lamp, it may be made to illuminate when the switch is on.
In conjunction with reductions in switch package size, the package size of lamps that are associated with instrument panel switches has also been a subject of size reduction. It is known to use LED's for such lamps. A representative lamp is an assembly that comprises a base and an LED on that base. The base is adapted for mounting in a socket to establish connection of an electric circuit to the LED.
One aspect of the present invention relates to further improvements in packaging lamp assemblies in association with switches, such as in a switch module for an instrument panel of an automotive vehicle.
Instrument panel switch modules that have identical switch groupings, or clusters, but are designed for use in different vehicle models, may utilize switches that are in particular locations in the switch cluster in different ways depending on the particular vehicle model. Accordingly, it may be preferable to design a switch module so as to allow certain functions associated with switches and/or lamps in the module to be established by software programming, rather than by specific hardware in the panel. In that way a common module may be mass-produced so as to be potentially useful in any of the various vehicle models, and once the particular vehicle model in which it is to be installed has been established, it is rendered unique to that model by software programming.
Another aspect of the present invention relates to improvements in instrument panel switch modules that allow a common module having a wiring board that is common to all the module's switches to be used in any of various vehicle models to accommodate different lamp functions associated with various switches of the module in different vehicle models.
A particular aspect of the invention relates to a dual function lamp socket comprising: a substantially rigid wiring board containing a through-hole that has a perimeter margin bounding an opening; plural discrete contact pads disposed on the board surface spaced apart around the margin of the through-hole; plural discrete conductor traces that run on the board surface from the plural discrete contact pads; the perimeter margin of the through-hole having a polarizing feature that allows a base of a first lamp assembly model that has a matching polarizing feature to be inserted into the through-hole only when the respective polarizing features are in unique circumferential registry and after having been so inserted, the first lamp assembly model to be circumferentially indexed a fixed distance to an installed position where a pair of contacts on the base of the first lamp assembly model are in contact with a first pair of the contact pads to place a lamp of the first lamp assembly model in circuit across the first pair of contact pads; the plural discrete contact pads comprising a second pair that is distinct from the first pair and disposed not to place the lamp of the first lamp assembly model in circuit across the second pair of contact pads when the base of the first lamp assembly model is in the installed position, but instead to place the lamp of a second lamp assembly model in circuit across the second pair of contact pads when a base of the second lamp assembly model that has the same polarizing feature as that of the first lamp assembly model has been inserted into the through-hole and the second lamp assembly model indexed the fixed distance to the installed position and not to place the lamp of the second lamp assembly model in circuit across the first pair of contact pads when the second lamp assembly model is in the installed position.
Another particular aspect of the invention relates to a circuit board assembly for use with an electrical panel of an automotive vehicle comprising: a substantially rigid wiring board containing a plurality of through-holes each of which has a perimeter margin bounding an opening; plural discrete contact pads disposed on the board surface spaced apart around the margin of each through-hole; plural discrete conductor traces that run on the board surface from the plural discrete contact pads; the perimeter margin of each through-hole having a polarizing feature that allows a base of a first lamp assembly model that has a matching polarizing feature to be inserted into the through-hole only when the respective polarizing features are in unique circumferential registry and after having been so inserted, the first lamp assembly model to be circumferentially indexed a fixed distance to an installed position where a pair of contacts on the base of the first lamp assembly model are in contact with a first pair of the contact pads to place a lamp of the first lamp assembly model in circuit across the first pair of contact pads; the plural discrete contact pads around the margin of each through-hole comprising a second pair that is distinct from the first pair and disposed not to place the lamp of the first lamp assembly model in circuit across the second pair of contact pads when the base of the first lamp assembly model is in the installed position, but instead to place the lamp of a second lamp assembly model in circuit across the second pair of contact pads when a base of the second lamp assembly model that has the same polarizing feature as that of the first lamp assembly model has been inserted into the through-hole and the second lamp assembly model indexed the fixed distance to the installed position and not to place the lamp of the second lamp assembly model in circuit across the first pair of contact pads when the second lamp assembly model is in the installed position; a first lamp assembly model disposed in installed position in a first of the through-holes; and a second lamp assembly model disposed in installed position in a second of the through-holes.
Still another particular aspect of the invention relates to an electric module comprising: a housing; a back-lighted member on a face of the housing; a substantially rigid wiring board disposed behind the face of the housing and containing a through-hole that registers with the back-lighted member and that has a perimeter margin bounding an opening; plural discrete contact pads disposed on the board surface spaced apart around the margin of the through-hole; plural discrete conductor traces that run on the board surface from the plural discrete contact pads; the perimeter margin of the through-hole having a polarizing feature that allows a base of a first lamp assembly model that has a matching polarizing feature to be inserted into the through-hole only when the respective polarizing features are in unique circumferential registry and after having been so inserted, the first lamp assembly model to be circumferentially indexed a fixed distance to an installed position where a pair of contacts on the base of the first lamp assembly model are in contact with a first pair of the contact pads to place a lamp of the first lamp assembly model in circuit across the first pair of contact pads; the plural discrete contact pads comprising a second pair that is distinct from the first pair and disposed not to place the lamp of the first lamp assembly model in circuit across the second pair of contact pads when the base of the first lamp assembly model is in the installed position, but instead to place the lamp of a second lamp assembly model in circuit across the second pair of contact pads when a base of the second lamp assembly model that has the same polarizing feature as that of the first lamp assembly model has been inserted into the through-hole and the second lamp assembly model indexed the fixed distance to the installed position and not to place the lamp of the second lamp assembly model in circuit across the first pair of contact pads when the second lamp assembly model is in the installed position.
Still another particular aspect of the invention relates to an automotive vehicle comprising: an interior electrical panel that contains switches and indicator lamps for a driver of the vehicle and that has a front face containing plural back-lighted members for presenting information to the driver, including information regarding status of the switches; a wiring board assembly disposed behind the front face comprising a substantially rigid wiring board containing a plurality of through-holes each of which has a perimeter margin bounding an opening and each of which registers with a respective back-lighted member; plural discrete contact pads disposed on the board surface spaced apart around the margin of each through-hole; plural discrete conductor traces that run on the board surface from the plural discrete contact pads; the perimeter margin of each through-hole having a polarizing feature that allows a base of a first lamp assembly model that has a matching polarizing feature to be inserted into the through-hole only when the respective polarizing features are in unique circumferential registry and after having been so inserted, the first lamp assembly model to be circumferentially indexed a fixed distance to an installed position where a pair of contacts on the base of the first lamp assembly model are in contact with a first pair of the contact pads to place a lamp of the first lamp assembly model in circuit across the first pair of contact pads; the plural discrete contact pads around the margin of each through-hole comprising a second pair that is distinct from the first pair and disposed not to place the lamp of the first lamp assembly model in circuit across the second pair of contact pads when the base of the first lamp assembly model is in the installed position, but instead to place the lamp of a second lamp assembly model in circuit across the second pair of contact pads when a base of the second lamp assembly model that has the same polarizing feature as that of the first lamp assembly model has been inserted into the through-hole and the second lamp assembly model indexed the fixed distance to the installed position and not to place the lamp of the second lamp assembly model in circuit across the first pair of contact pads when the second lamp assembly model is in the installed position; first lamp assembly models disposed in installed position in through-holes that register with back-lighted members that provide switch status information; and second lamp assembly models disposed in installed position in through-holes that register with back-lighted members other than back-lighted members that provide information other than switch status information.
The foregoing, along with further aspects, features, and advantages of the invention, will be seen in the following disclosure of a presently preferred embodiment of the invention depicting the best mode contemplated at this time for carrying out the invention. The disclosure includes drawings, briefly described as follows.